GDT: Blues @ Avs| 9:30pm NBCSN| Sprinting a Marathon

[SanFranBluesFan]

Awesome W. Very excite

 

[simon IC]

Krug is clearly still feeling things out with his new teammates, there was a tentative pause in his game that I saw evident tonight but he adapted well on the fly and had some nice plays in the 3rd. Really liked his gap closure in the DZ and ability to disrupt with his stick work but he gets muscled bad in front of the net.

I saw that too. I called it "puck watching", but perhaps tentative pausing is a better description. Yes, he was outmuscled a couple of times, but that is going to happen. He is also going to get beaten occasionally in front of his own net on account of his lack of reach. With smart positioning, and a better familiarity with his teammates and how to use them effectively, I really think he will only get better. I am looking forward to it.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I meant that have played in the NHL lol

Weaver

 

[Stopsight]

I would think opposite. If you can play your system should be ready quicker.

If they know the system, sure, but on the other side I'm thinking of teams who revolve around guys like MacKinnon who can come out and score goals playing pond hockey w/ not as much need for preparation or drilling.

 

[simon IC]

Weaver

Yes! That is the name I was searching for! Remember that Chicago announcer when Weaver leveled a BlackHawk? "Weaver left his feet! Weaver left his feet!" Lol!

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

As Dennis Green once said, “They are, who we thought they were”

And we let ‘em off the hook!

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Yes! That is the name I was searching for! Remember that Chicago announcer when Weaver leveled a BlackHawk? "Weaver left his feet! Weaver left his feet!" Lol!

That was Sharp. I think that was the first game for Andy Murray or maybe Hitchcock.

Pant loved to call him The Little Weaver.

 

[BlueSeal]

Solid win. Bartender, gimme another!

 

[Klank Loves You]

I've been pessimistic heading into this season, so it's pleasant to be surprised. Team defense looked to be in mid-season form. Thomas looks like he has filled out, and ready to have a breakout year. What a game for Sunny. No matter what i think of Army for letting Pie walk, finding Sunny has been an A+ move. I generally think Faulk/Krug/Dunn were adequate defensively, but man, each one of them is good for a major gaffe every game. The type of plays that kill any momentum in a tied playoff game.

I have not been keeping up with news. Why wasn't Hoffman playing?

Colorado's announcers were top notch. Very impressed with their lack of over-the-top homerism.

 

[The Note]

As the game started at 10:30 out east I couldn’t stay up to watch. Did I read correctly that Hoffman couldn’t play due to a visa issue? How is that not squared away lol? Anyway, glad to see they won

 

[brokeu91]

As the game started at 10:30 out east I couldn’t stay up to watch. Did I read correctly that Hoffman couldn’t play due to a visa issue? How is that not squared away lol? Anyway, glad to see they won

I was in the same boat. Unfortunately because the Blues are now in the West, there’s going to be a lot of games that I miss. I didn’t renew my NHL center ice package because of it.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

I go to bed pretty early so I got up at 3am to watch this one. It was a fun game to watch and the Avs commentators were not annoyingly homerish. The Blues looked like a strong team again that did a great job exploiting the Avs defense. Binner looked boring (which is great for a goalie!). All in all this game is starting to get me excited to see what this team will do this year.

 

[Ranksu]

Watching game afterwards.

Binny stole this game.

Sunny, Scheartz, Thomas and Kyrou were impressive from forwards group.

Parayko and Bortuzzo were our best dmen. Not buy-in Dunn and Scandella. They look really sloppy. Dunn is slow. What is happened to him?

I view Blais was good fit on 4th line. It could be really dangerous 4th line when Sunny comes back there. Best 4th line in NHL.

Clifford odd man out imo when Hoffman will get his Visa fix.

Schenn - ROR - Perron
Schwartz - Thomas - Hoffman
Sanford - Bozak - Kyrou
Blais - Sundqvist - Barbashev

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Faulk looked good, not last year playoffs good. But still a lot better than last year.

 

[542365]

Watching game afterwards.

Binny stole this game.

Sunny, Scheartz, Thomas and Kyrou were impressive from forwards group.

Parayko and Bortuzzo were our best dmen. Not buy-in Dunn and Scandella. They look really sloppy. Dunn is slow. What is happened to him?

I view Blais was good fit on 4th line. It could be really dangerous 4th line when Sunny comes back there. Best 4th line in NHL.

Clifford odd man out imo when Hoffman will get his Visa fix.

Schenn - ROR - Perron
Schwartz - Thomas - Hoffman
Sanford - Bozak - Kyrou
Blais - Sundqvist - Barbashev

The Blues held the Avs to just 1.2 xG so while Binnington was good, I wouldn’t say he stole it. The Blues were just the better team overall. Team defense was excellent.

EDIT TO ADD: Team defense on both sides was quite good. Definitely wasn’t a gong show like some preseason games can be. I was worried the first few games were going to be rough, but both teams executed well overall.

 

[danyhabsfan]

Thomas only 12:41 and no PP?

I thought he was gonna have a big year. I know he had 2 assist but it will be tough to produce without icetime.

Will he get more icetime once Hoffman gets back into the lineup.

 

[Ranksu]

How many lbs Kyrou did add in this off-season? was it 8lbs or 18lbs?

 

[tfriede2]

How many lbs Kyrou did add in this off-season? was it 8lbs or 18lbs?

I heard 10, but he looks noticeably bigger to me.

 

[The Note]

Thomas only 12:41 and no PP?

I thought he was gonna have a big year. I know he had 2 assist but it will be tough to produce without icetime.

Will he get more icetime once Hoffman gets back into the lineup.

He averaged 14:34 of ice time last year, and I doubt it falls from there given everything that has been said by both Armstrong and Berube w/r/t their plans for him in the top 6. I think the shuffling of lines with Hoffman out in conjunction with it being a close game into the third period skewed things a bit. Ultimately, it was the first game and they're still working things out. I wouldn't read too much into it at this point.

 

[i aint Dunn yet]

Watching game afterwards.

Binny stole this game.

Sunny, Scheartz, Thomas and Kyrou were impressive from forwards group.

Parayko and Bortuzzo were our best dmen. Not buy-in Dunn and Scandella. They look really sloppy. Dunn is slow. What is happened to him?

I view Blais was good fit on 4th line. It could be really dangerous 4th line when Sunny comes back there. Best 4th line in NHL.

Clifford odd man out imo when Hoffman will get his Visa fix.

Schenn - ROR - Perron
Schwartz - Thomas - Hoffman
Sanford - Bozak - Kyrou
Blais - Sundqvist - Barbashev

i think blais is out when hoffman gets his papers ......

 

[Ranksu]

Here is TOI's for paleyr in this game.

Thomas, Bortuzzo should get more icetime.

Schenn (18:47) - ROR (20:37)- Perron (18:01)

Schwartz (15:40) - Thomas (12:41) - Sundqvist (13:31)

Sanford (15:49) - Bozak (15:13) - Kyrou (13:29)

Blais (9:30) - Barbashev (13:07) - Clifford (8:10)



Krug (22:10) - Parayko (24:20)

Scandella (19:01) - Faulk (23:05)

Dunn (16:32) - Bortuzzo (14:05)

 

[The Note]

Double post. Just got through the replay this AM. It was nice to see Binnington look good -- as we got closer to the season the goaltending increasingly became my biggest concern. Obviously only one game, but still good to see. Agree with others who said Krug looked hesitant at times though that is not to say he looked bad by any stretch. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period he has to work through a bit. The interplay between Kyrou/Bozak was great. I think Bozak can be the perfect center to bring Kyrou along with ala Thomas. The biggest thing that stood out to me was the gulf (at least in one game) between the Avs bottom 6 and the Blues. The Avs bottom 6 guys couldn't get much going when they were out there -- in fact I think they only registered 1 shot -- while the Blues obviously got contributions from their bottom 6. I doubt there will be that pronounced of a gap but it was obvious and made a big difference. Looking forward to getting Hoffman next to Thomas and hopefully they take off.

 

[Spektre]

Faulk is a +3, on pace to be +168

 

[ezcreepin]

What? ROR constantly breaks up plays before they develop. He’s always in the right position. Guys a very smart player. Thomas could surpass him and I hope he does but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. Will take time and experience.

Isn't the saying you can teach defense but you can't teach offense? I really don't know what they say, but with ROR's work ethic, it doesn't surprise me that he is always in the right position; he probably studies very hard and takes his work seriously. Look, as I said I love ROR and hype him up big time anyone mentions him, but I believe that Thomas will surpass him eventually. Now whether that is because he's a notch better than ROR in the offensive and defensive category or because he is a ppg++ with good defense, that remains to be seen. He has one of the best mentors in ROR and I'm excited to see his development. But we definitely both agree ROR is amazing and we'd be in the shitter without him.

 

[SwivelSchwartz]

Love the coaches adjustments made this offseason. I have never seen the blues step up at the blue line to prevent a zone entry. Noticed it 5/6 times last night